Friday, August 31, 2012
New website for us!
You can now purchase our products online. Please take a minute to visit www.frombackthen.weebly.com to check out our products. Thanks.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
The exciting news is here!
It has been a really long time coming but here I am posting the "NEW" information. We are now selling soap! Yay! Our business name is "From Back Then". Here is our logo!
If you would like to buy some soap please contact us or stop by Titanium Crossfit to purchase during their regular hours.
We will be selling many different types of soaps with many different scents. We have a shea butter soap, a goat's milk base, as well as our main base which is a blend of coconut oil, olive oil and tallow.
Our scents include, rose, eucalyptus, tangerine bergamot, fennel anise and many more to come.
If you prefer unscented we have those too. Our bar named Mr.Vail is unscented with oatmeal, and coming soon is a charcoal bar and our coconut milk based soap.
Our etsy shop is now open. Keep watching for new products.
Check it out here.
Check it out here.
We are passionate about this and we hope that you are happy with your products.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Soap news
I am now making soap! I need a name for my "business" if I get serious. Any suggestions. I will give you a few bars as a thank you if I chose the name you suggested! (No matter where you live)
For all you homeschoolers out there...
Check out this giveaway, $350 value!
http://homeschoolgiveaways.com/2012/04/giveaway-switched-on-schoolhouse%C2%AE-complete-5-subject-set-350-value/
http://homeschoolgiveaways.com/2012/04/giveaway-switched-on-schoolhouse%C2%AE-complete-5-subject-set-350-value/
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
More tips for making paleo easier to afford as a family
Recently a friend asked me what I do to keep my budget manageable in the grocery department. That is a complicated answer so over the next little while I'm going to post things as I think of them. One of the biggest is to realize that all veggies do not cost the same. Peppers for example can be very expensive but cabbage on the other hand is not. Go through your grocery store and take a look at the per pound prices and think about how that veggie is going to fill you (or not) and the price tag attached. We love eating the chicken lo mein from primal-palate.com (we have their book "Make it Paleo"). The lo mein is a filling dish with cabbage instead of noodles... mmm, I want some now.
Also, there are usually racks with discounted produce on it. Sometimes it's worth a look, sometimes not so much.
One of my favorite things to do is save by buying bulk and freezing. Where we live there is a farmer's market twice weekly in the summer. At the end of every summer one of our favorite producers has a sale, she gets rid of her peppers at by the bag prices. $10 for a grocery bag full of peppers, green, orange, yellow and red sweet peppers. We will buy 2 or 3 and freeze them and they last the winter and ours this year are well on into the spring, maybe even the summer. Spinach goes on cheap here too, $12 worth was enough to hurt my hand as I carried it to the van. Frozen it will be more nutritionally dense than the stuff that is grown out of season, and it's cheaper too.
Look for free options too. Why not go berry picking if you can? Fiddleheads anyone? Rhubarb? Apples, pears, peaches... so many things can just be picked cut up and frozen. Canning is easy too depending on what you are doing with it. Last year we did pears canned in apple juice and man, they didn't last long!
That's all that I can think of now. Post comments if you can think of any other tips, I'm always looking for new ideas to save!
Happy eating!
Liv
Also, there are usually racks with discounted produce on it. Sometimes it's worth a look, sometimes not so much.
One of my favorite things to do is save by buying bulk and freezing. Where we live there is a farmer's market twice weekly in the summer. At the end of every summer one of our favorite producers has a sale, she gets rid of her peppers at by the bag prices. $10 for a grocery bag full of peppers, green, orange, yellow and red sweet peppers. We will buy 2 or 3 and freeze them and they last the winter and ours this year are well on into the spring, maybe even the summer. Spinach goes on cheap here too, $12 worth was enough to hurt my hand as I carried it to the van. Frozen it will be more nutritionally dense than the stuff that is grown out of season, and it's cheaper too.
Look for free options too. Why not go berry picking if you can? Fiddleheads anyone? Rhubarb? Apples, pears, peaches... so many things can just be picked cut up and frozen. Canning is easy too depending on what you are doing with it. Last year we did pears canned in apple juice and man, they didn't last long!
That's all that I can think of now. Post comments if you can think of any other tips, I'm always looking for new ideas to save!
Happy eating!
Liv
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Yes... it's true!
In the meantime here is something from their site that gives me a few reasons why I love them.
Our Mission:
To be the most trusted natural products company.
Our core values:
- We demand of ourselves the highest level of integrity.
- We focus on meeting our customers' needs and exceeding their expectations.
- We provide our investors an attractive return.
- We always take accountability for our mistakes.
- We encourage employees to develop, grow and improve quality of life.
- We contribute to the overall quality of life in our communities.
Our brand promise:
- We promise our customer a feeling of timeless comfort with every product.
- We promise our customer natural products.
- We promise our customer a perfectly consistent product.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
Teeth. Teeth? Yes, teeth.
As some of you may or may not know we have been thinking more and more about oral care. This post really challenged my thinking on our brushing with toothpaste and flossing is the best way to go theory. I had never really thought about it before I just sort of went with the flow. We tried the remineralization toothpaste but for the amount of work and the lack of cavities in our home we decided to go with just plain salt. We also changed our way of brushing. http://www.orawellness.com/ has a video that explains a way of brushing teeth that just made sense to me. My gums need just as much focus during brushing as my teeth do if not more! (I know Mum, I know, you taught me this a long time ago but it has JUST sunk in.)
As we undertook this endeavor we also read up on the tooth blog about tooth whitening. WOW! This was more of a change that we expected. Take a look.
Attractive, I know... One more... this one is me... embarrassing.
Now after about a week and a half of brushing with charcoal, not regularly mind you and still drinking coffee and the like.
Not perfect, but it's coming. By the way, sorry for the terrible pictures. We really wanted to get these up ASAP because we are super excited to share this with you!
Ok, interested? Wanna try? Here's how. Buy some charcoal pills. Most health food stores will carry them from what I understand. I bought mine at a health food shop in the Comox Mall. Then it was just a matter of cutting open the gelatin capsule and dipping in a toothbrush that was on it's way out anyway.
From there we brushed our teeth for two minutes. Not too bad for taste, just a bit dry in my opinion. This was what Anthony looked like while brushing!
Just a tip for you, you won't want to do this over your porcelain sink. Apparently this stains. Might be a good idea to wear some older clothes or a bib and brush over your kitchen sink.
I'm interested in hearing thoughts on this post. Feel free to comment.
-Olivia
As we undertook this endeavor we also read up on the tooth blog about tooth whitening. WOW! This was more of a change that we expected. Take a look.
Now after about a week and a half of brushing with charcoal, not regularly mind you and still drinking coffee and the like.
Ok, interested? Wanna try? Here's how. Buy some charcoal pills. Most health food stores will carry them from what I understand. I bought mine at a health food shop in the Comox Mall. Then it was just a matter of cutting open the gelatin capsule and dipping in a toothbrush that was on it's way out anyway.
From there we brushed our teeth for two minutes. Not too bad for taste, just a bit dry in my opinion. This was what Anthony looked like while brushing!
I'm interested in hearing thoughts on this post. Feel free to comment.
-Olivia
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Money, money, money
I noticed that many of you have interest in how to afford paleo eating, especially as a family. We have done a few things to help with that. One major one is cutting back on eating out. We used to have a line in the budget for eating out and now it's gone. We have a "slush" line in the budget now instead that we have to decide, do we want something pretty.. something fun... or should we splurge on a chance to eat out.
Groceries we have budgeted ourselves in at $500 per pay, that's every 2 weeks. Some would say that's a lot others are on par with us. We eat a lot and we have four children and two adults under our roof. We also try to have friends over for supper at least once a week for a meal.
To keep the budget down lower I try to keep the extras out. We call them treats in our house.
Lastly I make a meal plan. Planning can actually make your grocery bill go up if you aren't careful. A few tips I've learned to use are....
1) Plan with your favorite grocery store flyer(s) in front of you. Plan your meals according to what is on sale.
2) Buy your meat bulk. You have to save up in the months leading up to getting the animal in the freezer but it makes the months to come easier to breath.
3) Plan for leftover meals/snacks. If you don't do this part you'll end up with waste. Let's face it, no one wants yucky spinach "melting" in your fridge. Gross.
4) Be willing to shop at many stores AND farmers markets. It's worth it, trust me! Also, on the farmer's market note. When you shop local you not only are doing your "neighbor" a favor by supporting their business, and your body by getting nutrient dense food, but they will likely get to know your name and throw an extra tomato in your basket or something along those lines. This is not something to expect from them mind you, but it is nice when it happens.
I'm interested to know what kind of questions some may have about this. Comment on this post if you have further questions.
Groceries we have budgeted ourselves in at $500 per pay, that's every 2 weeks. Some would say that's a lot others are on par with us. We eat a lot and we have four children and two adults under our roof. We also try to have friends over for supper at least once a week for a meal.
To keep the budget down lower I try to keep the extras out. We call them treats in our house.
Lastly I make a meal plan. Planning can actually make your grocery bill go up if you aren't careful. A few tips I've learned to use are....
1) Plan with your favorite grocery store flyer(s) in front of you. Plan your meals according to what is on sale.
2) Buy your meat bulk. You have to save up in the months leading up to getting the animal in the freezer but it makes the months to come easier to breath.
3) Plan for leftover meals/snacks. If you don't do this part you'll end up with waste. Let's face it, no one wants yucky spinach "melting" in your fridge. Gross.
4) Be willing to shop at many stores AND farmers markets. It's worth it, trust me! Also, on the farmer's market note. When you shop local you not only are doing your "neighbor" a favor by supporting their business, and your body by getting nutrient dense food, but they will likely get to know your name and throw an extra tomato in your basket or something along those lines. This is not something to expect from them mind you, but it is nice when it happens.
I'm interested to know what kind of questions some may have about this. Comment on this post if you have further questions.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
The search is on! Part 2
I have taken the Nursing Mother's Tea, it worked. I'm leading up to a weekend that we will be away for three days though and will be leaving the children with my dad. I am going to leave him with both hemp milk and coconut milk to give baby 4. She has accepted both, but still prefers mama's milk. In case you are wondering coconut milk is served to her straight from the carton or can. And for hemp milk I used hemp seeds that I bought from coolhemp.com. I use a 3 to 1 ratio water to seeds and soak overnight and then blend in the morning. From there I strain and put into the baby bottles. Not all babies like it but my first and last babies have.
Curried Quail Eggs
Curried Quail Eggs
Ingredients:
2 (28 oz) cans diced tomatoes
2 (14 oz) cans coconut milk
1/2 tsp each: cumin,fennel seed, anise seed, caraway seed
1/4 tsp each: dried ginger, allspice, nutmeg
2 1/2 tbsp garam masala
1 1/2 tbsp hot curry powder
1 1/2 tsp tumeric
1 cinnamon stick
1/3 cup honey
5 carrots
3 celery stalks
30 quail eggs
Preparation:
Boil quail eggs. Place in cool water and peel and halve them lengthwise, distracting hungry children as needed.
Combine spices in mortar and pound until well blended. Coffee grinders work great for this too.
Preheat pan, add spices with oil of choice. Heat for 2 or 3 minutes.
While this is taking place blend tomatoes and coconut milk in food processor or blender until smooth.
Pour over spices and set to simmer over low heat stirring occasionally.
Slice carrots celery and other veggies of choice and add to the sauce, add honey and quail eggs.
Cover and simmer for 30 minutes stirring occasionally.
Voila!
The new year - ponderings
I'm finding the blog a little overwhelming. I have left things to Anthony to post and he's just as busy, so just as a heads up things are going to be as infrequent as it has been. I hope to add a few more of my rants to the blog to share what I'm learning. It's hard to do when we have little ones who want to eat, be clean and be loved. I want to do all that so I'm attempting to do less.
I have been thinking about dropping some things and adding others for the benefit of the whole home. I think that I will drop one Bible study (maybe), be less focused on my craft hobbies and drop my Jr. Church Co-ordinator position (already done). In their places I am planning on running a seminar to teach more about Paleo to friends and members of the Titanium Crossfit gym in Courtenay in order to learn more about it myself. I am also thinking about selling Watkins for a bit of revenue but mostly for their associate discounts. I also want to focus more on the pre-school homeschool curriculum I have put on the back burner and focus on choosing curriculum for our oldest for the new school year in the fall.
I've been craving spending time with God so much more over the past few months. He is changing the desires of my heart, my oh so stubborn heart.
In the end what I need to keep reminding myself is........this is why I'm doing it. -ov
I have been thinking about dropping some things and adding others for the benefit of the whole home. I think that I will drop one Bible study (maybe), be less focused on my craft hobbies and drop my Jr. Church Co-ordinator position (already done). In their places I am planning on running a seminar to teach more about Paleo to friends and members of the Titanium Crossfit gym in Courtenay in order to learn more about it myself. I am also thinking about selling Watkins for a bit of revenue but mostly for their associate discounts. I also want to focus more on the pre-school homeschool curriculum I have put on the back burner and focus on choosing curriculum for our oldest for the new school year in the fall.
I've been craving spending time with God so much more over the past few months. He is changing the desires of my heart, my oh so stubborn heart.
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